May Madness: Breaking Down the Division II Semifinal Teams

The Division II semifinals are this Saturday, May 19. The Mercyhurst Lakers host the Dowling Golden Lions in Erie, Pa. The LeMoyne Dolphins host the Limestone Saints in the other matchup. The winner of each game will advance to the national championship on May 27 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass.

Mercyhurst (13-0)

Mercyhurst is the defending national champion and still the team to beat. The Lakers have been playing all season with a target on their backs, and so far nobody has been up to the task of dethroning them. They have reeled off 20 straight wins, including a 9-8 win in last year’s national championship game over Adelphi.

The Lakers have had a few close calls, though. They defeated Dowling 7-6, Pfeiffer, 8-6, and NYIT, 7-6. It’s fitting that Dowling is the team that they will face off against in the semifinals.

This team bears a striking similarity to the NFL’s Green Bay Packers. They weren’t perfect in 2011, but managed to fend of the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. In 2012, they finished the regular season 15-1 and looked unbeatable, but lost to the Giants. Will the Lakers follow the same path or keep their streak alive and win their second straight national championship?

Attackman Kallay feels that team unity is the key for Lakers in their bid to repeat.

"The best thing about our team is the unselfish nature of everyone. Everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to get ourselves to the greater goal, which is the national championship."

Dowling (11-2)

If there is one team with a chip on its shoulder its Dowling. The Golden Lions had a mostly unblemished record, save for losses to fellow semifinalists Mercyhurst (7-6) and Limestone (15-7). The loss to Limestone was the last game of the season for Dowling, and they have been waiting for another chance to show that they belong. Will the Golden Lions be this year’s version of Mercyhurst?

Coach Tim Boyle and his team are ready for the challenge that awaits them in the semifinals.

“We are very fortunate, proud and excited to be participating in the NCAA Division II semi-finals this weekend,” says Boyle. “We are very proud of this team and its seniors in particular. They have done a great job keeping the team focused this season.”

He adds that the team has gotten to this point by using the “We is greater than me” philosophy.

“We have been working well together in each unit on the field, from face off unit to Defensive unit to our Offense. This is shown when you look at the stats and you see that we really do not have guys that lead any statistical categories on offense this season.” He adds: “We feel that we kind of got away from that mentality in the Limestone game and that cost us dearly. We know that we need to get back to our unselfish play in order for us to be successful. We look forward to the challenge ahead of us and we hope that we can make our families and our institution proud this weekend.”

LeMoyne (17-0)

LeMoyne won the national championship in ’04, ’06 and ’07. Then, they became the NCAA’s version of the Buffalo Bills. They lost in three straight national championship games and were absent last year. LeMoyne has been a powerhouse for several years, yet the seniors on this team have never tasted victory in the national championship game. They have won 28 of their last 29 games with the lone loss coming against Merrimack by one goal in the last game of the ’11 campaign.

This juggernaut hasn’t lost this season, but has had a few close calls. They beat Adelphi 9-6, Saint Michael’s 7-6, and Merrimack 8-6. They are led offensively by Tyler Prevost (52 pts), Nate Frechette (36), Chris Button (29) and Andrew Chadderdon (25). Their defense is led by Alex Cameron-Carter, Chris Aubertine and Josh Klepfer. Goalie Jeff White carries a very scary 4.12 goals against average.

Coach Dan Sheehan has nothing but praise for Prevost, his junior attackman.

“Tyler is a very patient and talented attackman. He can create for himself and his teammates but also can finish.”

He adds that a team-first mentality has aided this season’s results.

“Our success this year is in large part to our unselfish play on offense. It is difficult to key on any one player.”

Graduate student midfielder Tyler Sennett, the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament Most Outstanding Player, echoes coach Sheehan that overall team unity is the most important key to a winning team.

“In all my (five) years here, this year’s team is the most tight-knit group and that chemistry has elevated our overall play above where individual talent would have taken us in the past. Every day, we really feel like everyone is playing for all 46 guys on the team and no matter what your individual role on the team is, everyone is concerned with achieving our team goals.”

Limestone (16-1)

The Saints are the only team not located in the Northeast. Limestone, located in South Carolina, won the South Region bid and gets the tough task of playing at LeMoyne. The Saints almost had a perfect record. They only lost one game, to Merrimack 12-11, and is definitely no pushover. They finished the season by pummeling fellow semifinalist Dowling, 15-7, on their home field. If there is one team that I consider a sleeper wildcard, it’s Limestone.

The Saints are a big-time scoring team led offensively by Shane Jackson (66 pts), Riley Loewen (65), Jackson Decker (46), and Corey Rich (40). They are led on the defensive side of the ball by Anthony Starnino, Josh Wharton and Tommy Bryant. Goaltender Steve Gartelman carries a staunch 5.99 goals against average.

Coach Jeremy Clarke is very excited that his team won the bid to carry the torch for the southern states.

“It is quite an honor given the vastly increased talent and growth of the teams in the south.” He adds, “This is a team with excellent leadership. The remarkable thing about this group is that the leadership comes from all four classes – not simply the seniors.”

Limestone’s schedule changed significantly this season and played up to the higher level of competition. Coach Clarke, like the other coaches, attributes the Saints success to overall team unity.

“Our team chemistry has improved because we needed each other in order to have success.” He adds, “We have a very high assist to goal ratio. Our team loves hockey and they get as much excitement out of ‘hockey’ assists as goals. We talk a lot about sharing the ball.”

Clarke says that the interesting thing about this season is that Limestone’s two main attackmen, Loewen and Jackson, are actually down in points, yet the team was actually better offensively.

“So many teams have tried in so many different ways to control them that it opens up all the other guys — and those two love it. I have been doing this for a long time and have never seen two truly great players who were so unselfish and concerned about the team doing well over their own personal stats.”

Clarke likes that people are quick to overlook his team’s chances of winning the national championship.

“If we can see any advantage it is that nothing is expected of us. Underdogs is an understatement. As the Dowling coach said after the game vs. us a week ago, they believe they did not show up to play that day, so our win isn’t very impressive. We have to go to Syracuse to face an undefeated team that is playing great lacrosse right now. A very tough order for any team but especially for a Limestone team coming out of the South. We hope to be competitive and see what happens. “